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Alakai Burke
Alakai Nico Burke (born January 10, 1982), also known by his former ring name Dominick Starr, is a professional wrestling promoter, model, retired professional wrestler, and Hall of Famer. He was best known for his time in UFL, where he was the last UFL! World Heavyweight Champion and one-time Lightweight Champion. He also ran the Revival Tour for the company 2010. At the end of the Revival Tour, a final Hall of Fame class was inducted and Burke was included. He then wrestled for the company World Wrestling Headquarters, where he was the WWH World Heavyweight Champion and most notoriously feuded with Jason Krow, earning the WWH Award for Feud of the Year. Burke was the Founder and subsequent co-Owner of World Elite Wrestling, which rose to popularity rather quickly after its inception in 2011. The company was run for 4 years and hosted two weekly brands with two pre-shows. As an on-screen character he appeared on all WEW brands, except for during his feud with SM Raye where he then primarily appeared on Adrenaline. Early life Alakai Burke was born on January 10th in San Jose, California. Burke is the middle child to former pro wrestler and current wrestling trainer, Selena, and his deceased brother Dorian. His father David is of African-American descent while his mother Ella is of Hispanic descent. Alakai's father is a retired wrestler who opened his own training school, which would become known as the infamous StarrDome Wrestling Academy training facilitiy, where he would train his children every day after school. Alakai did graduate high school and juggled training for wrestling throughout his college years until he earned his Associates Degree from San Jose State University. His father trained him hard, and it all paid off when Alakai got his first ever wrestling try out with a place called UFL! (Underground Fight League). There, Burke developed his gimmick and ring name, Dominick Starr. Professional Wrestling Career (2006-2010) UFL! (2006-2007) Burke had three try outs with the company before he finally signed a contract. Burke was very talented and therefore the creative team decided to place him in a storyline with the then UFL! Lightweight Champion, Nick Jacky. Dominick played heel in this role and attacked Jacky numerous times after matches. It was until the pay-per-view match that Jacky never showed and Dominick was to win the title from a forfeit, but however he did not. The storyline continued until Jacky was released from his contract after no-showing to a couple of other house shows and live events, then requesting his release. Upon that decision, in Jacky's last match, Dominick defeated him to win his first UFL! Championship. Conflict Weeks after being champion, Starr got into a legitimate fight with the owner, Kimber Miechelle, and was fired from UFL! thus having his UFL! Lightweight Title stripped, and it would then be won by UFL! Superstar, CharlieDoll. Return to UFL! (2008-2009) In late 2008 Dominick Starr made his return after getting things straight with the owner of UFL! He had to go back to wrestling dark matches, but it wasn't long until he got out. The creative team wanted to place him in a storyline for the UFL! Lightweight Championship because it was still being held by the man who won it after Burke was fired. This was nixed however when the UFL! World Heavyweight Champion himself wanted to feud with Burke. Controversy Burke was placed into a #1 Contenders match to the UFL! World Heavyweight Championship and won three weeks after being signed back. At the pay-per-view, UFL! Halloween X, an event that went down in history as the "UFL! Screwjob" when a change of plans came and Kimber Chelle, the ring name of the owner of UFL! Kimber Miechelle, came out to count the pin for The Jester, the then UFL! World Heavyweight Champion, to retain. This was considered a huge tragedy because Burke informed the media that he was told he was to win the match, but this all came as a surprise. He, however, did not want to leave the feud because no matter if he thought he had been cheated, he loved to company and wanted to continue. UFL! World Heavyweight Champion Burke and the Jester continued their feud and attacked each other week after week whether it was backstage or during each other's matches. At the next pay-per-view, Shattered Dreams in a Last Man Standing Match, Dominick beat Jester to win his first World Championship reign in UFL! During the time period of his World Title reign Dominick began dating McKenzie. After a few months Dominick hosted the first Halloween X costume contest which was won by Allyson Letherlund. Allyson and Dominick began flirting over the weeks, hinting an on-screen relationship stirring between the two. Kenzie, Dominick's girlfriend at the time, thought Allyson was making a move on her man and challenged her to the first ever "Fired and Owned" match to which Allyson won, making it to where Kenzie was fired from the company, and Allyson had the rights to Dominick Starr's contract. Dominick wrote "Confessions of A True Starr," a weekly blog column, which was voted the 2008 Weekly Segment of the Year. Introduction of Public Enemy Seeing as how Dominick's reign as the UFL! Champion was running a little dry, the company decided to hire Burke's sister and brother, Dorian and Selena, but keep them under different ring names. Selena's being Selena Sky, and Dorian's being his real name, Dorian Burke. Dominick would pick on Dorian over the weeks, and instead of doing the same to Selena, he showed a little interest in Selena and picked her as his tag team partner in a tag team match. Finally, he made the announcement in-ring that his family would soon be coming. After much anticipation, Dominick had a couple stagehands lift a huge box that was in the center of the ring to reveal Dorian and Selena. That was the day that Public Enemy made its infamous return. The team, however, did not get any tag team championship runs. Final Feuds At the New Year's pay-per-view, Countdown to Demise, Dominick sat ring side for a new concept match, the Revolver Match for the number one contendership to his championship .Upcoming superstar and then UFL! Lightweight Champion, Spider won the match and the two began a short feud. After one of Spider's matches, the week before Burke's pay-per-view title defense, Dominick attacked Spider. At the pay-per-view Fatal Attraction, Starr faced Spider in a title versus title match-up. It ended in a diqualifiction due to Whiskey Rebel, as a masked attacker. In later weeks, Whiskey would reveal himself and would interfere in Starr's match later on in the night. A week later, Dominick cornered Whiskey in the ring and began to beat him badly. Then Allyson Letherlund, Dominick's then girlfriend, would seemingly help by getting a chair for Whiskey's demise, but then suddenly crash it over Starr's head. The couple officially broke-up and at UFL! Retribution, as Whiskey and Allyson faced Dominick Starr and Selena who won by disqualification; soon though, Veronica Striker, Dominick's legit wife, would show up and attack Whiskey Rebel and Allyson. His storyline came to an abrupt end when UFL! closed. Dominick went out as the only undefeated champion in UFL! history. The UFL! World Heavyweight Championship now resides in Starr's San Jose home. World Wrestling Headquarters (2009-2010) Burke, still under his Starr ring name, signed a contract with World Wrestling Headquarters (WWH). Starr quickly developed an on-screen relationship with Brenda Flair, daughter to the Nature Boy, Ric Flair. WWH then had a draft and Starr was immediately taken to WWH Demolition. Then, WWH had a little mix up within the roster and talent, therefore Dominick was sent back to WWH Showdown. He was set to debut on to main card, against WWH Demolition Champion Jason Krow, but due to the roster mix up it was unsure if he will still be facing him. It was revealed on June 9, 2009, that Dominick had been put back on Demolition after his contract was found, and he was placed back in the match again Demolition Champion, Jason Krow. Starr was defeated via submission-KO when Krow choked Starr out with the Shadow of Death maneuver. After a few weeks of wins, Dominick then got put into a #1 Contendership match for the WWH Tag Team Championship, but lost when his partner Devin Copeland did not show up. Dominick took a leave of absence that would officially take place July 11, 2009 to fully heal his aggravated injury that happened after facing Jimmy Jacobs on an episode of Super Showdown. His doctor heavily advised it, therefore since Dominick had intended on going after the WWH Underground Championship, he decided to be 100 percent when pursuing the title. World Champion; Gimmick Change Dominick was traded to WWH's third brand, InnerCircle, after the returning legendary brand had captured twenty draft picks. Starr came back into action and was put into a match facing the then 1/2 Tag Team Champions, Fear, for the #1 Contendership to the WWH World Heavyweight Championship. Dominick won the match and was set to have a tag team storyline with old UFL! rival, The Jester, but due to personal reasons, the storyline was immediately dropped and The Jester quit the company. At WWH's pay-per-view event, SummerSlam, Dominick Starr defeated Mike Kelly to capture his first WWH World Championship. During that time, Dominick began to catch onto a new gimmick with an alter-ego, Jamond Davenport, although it did not last very long. After not getting a new #1 Contender, and the company was down in numbers so far as talent, so one brand would have to be demolished and the roster would have to be split up. It was just Dominick's luck that the man who had given him his first loss on the main card, Jason Krow, was still the WWH Demolition Champion and would be traded to InnerCircle. Dominick and Jason would then be set up for a Unification match at X-Games to which Starr lost. However, the two turned this into a feud and Dominick saw his first babyface run during his time in the federation. The two attacked each other numerous times, not always direct, but in some way. Once, Dominick tortured and beat Jason Krow's car, and Jason attacked Dominick after a match-up. If that was not enough, Jason visited Dominick's home and also attacked him there. At the contract signing there was one stipulation, if Dominick touched Jason Krow, he would lose his title re-match, and if Jason Krow touched Dominick Starr—the ban of Dominick touching Krow would be lifted and he could do all he wanted. Jason thought that since Dominick was on crutches he would not have a huge advantage with the pay-per-view only days away, so he broke the rule of no-touching, and Dominick retaliated by swinging his crutch and catching Jason in the face with it. As Jason was done, Dominick did not stop his attack, using his good foot to stomp on him. At the pay-per-view Survivor Series, Dominick Starr had his final match against Jason Krow for the WWH World Heavyweight Championship, and lost. The next night he retired. Starr returned to manage his then in-character girlfriend Brenda Flair. It was also announced that he had won the Best Feud of the Year for his feud with Jason Krow. Dominick and Brenda announced their engagement to each other a few weeks before Brenda would win the WWH High Velocity Championship. Short return to the ring and Retirement On May 30, 2010 Dominick signed a contract with WWH to become a wrestler once again on the brand InnerCircle. During his first return dark match, Dominick was victorious as he defeated T.J. Fields. Dominick's old UFL manager, Allyson Letherlund, also returned that week to become his active manager, which will soon evolve into a storyline jeopardizing the marriage of Dominick and Brenda. Dominick would then be put in the dark match main event and become victorious, defeating Dustin Delta, meaning he was now on the main card. Allyson Letherlund parted ways with the company, and the storyline was dropped therefore Brenda Flair resumed her role as Dominick's manager, however, when WWH records, contracts, and data was lost, similar to what happened when Dominick first joined WWH, he decided on not returning to the company before his paper work could be found, and officially retired from wrestling. World Elite Wrestling (2012) Feud with SM Raye After SM Raye announced that he hadn't resigned his contract with WEW, although he was holding a Tag Team Championship shot and a shot at the WEW World Championship. Alakai announced that his title shots were not going to be given to him unless he renegotiated his contract with WEW to become an active brand participant, and he was not going to be scheduled in matches; this sparked outrage from Raye. The two attempted a contract renegotiation, but it ended in a brawl after Aalakai became sick of Raye's disrespect towards him and his family. Two weeks later on Adrenaline, Alakai informed Raye that he had to let his partners name be known or else he would surrender his championship shot, and Raye finally revealed his partner to be Justin Blade. At the Retribution pay-per-view event, after Raye captured the World Championship by using brass knuckles to knock out his opponent, Burke came down to the ring and ordered the decision be reversed after playing back the incident where Raye cheated; thus the referee did reverse the decision and his opponent retained his championship via disqualification. On the following Adrenaline, Burke received a message about taking something precious from him and a week later Raye wheeled out Brenda Burke on a torture device. Alakai just entered the building at the time and ran out to help Brenda when he was attacked from behind by Raye, who seemingly had escaped through the crowd. The following week, after a chaotic 6-Person Tag Team match ended in a no contest, Burke confronted Raye about his wife's whereabouts. When Raye refused to tell Burke, Burke snapped and attacked Raye relentlessly until security came out to stop him. At Legacy, Burke defeated Raye in a "Street Fight" and his wife was returned to him. Business Career (2010-Present) Head of UFL! Revival Tour (2010) Burke returned to UFL!, this time under his real name for the first time, however, it wasn't as a wrestler - instead - as head of the one-time revival tour which pit originals versus new people coming in to, for one time, revive the hardcore stylings of UFL! Due to technical difficulties, the tour was cut short, and when Monroe Diamond, who was originally the third person in the UFL! World Championship match was kayfabe fired, Alakai took his place and won - becoming a two-time, and the last, UFL! World Heavyweight Champion. Later on in the night, Burke was inducted into the Hall of Fame with numerous of the other superstars and femme fatales as the Class of 2010. World Elite Wrestling (2011-) Rumors circled in the beginning of 2011 that Burke would venture out into starting his very own federation,a nd the rumors were confirmed in early-June 2011. A few weeks later, World Elite Wrestling opened up its door for superstars. On WEW's first show, Jason Krow, known to be one of Alakai's worst rivals during their time in WWH, won his debut match which was a first round match in the WEW Championship Tournament. Alakai came out immediately after the match and stared Krow down before extending his hand as a verbal agreement to verify that the hatchet was buried, and the two shook hands on it. A few days later Alakai hired his on-and-off screen wife, Brenda Burke, to be his personal assistant and their son, Brayden Burke (going under the name Brayden Perez) to be a backstage interviewer so he could get the feel of how it is to be backstage behind-the-scenes with actual wrestlers. Burke re-appeared on screen on an edition of Animosity where he took over as the acting General Manager when announcing to Priscilla Oliveira, who was the General Manager at the time, that she would have a match at their Hallwoeen X pay-per-view against her arch rival SM Raye to settle their feud. At Halloween X, SM Raye defeated Priscilla, and shortly after Alakai, along with Perez, who Alakai had revealed to be both his son and the new President of WEW, fired Priscilla. Later that year, WEW embarked on its first Worldwide Tour which was a success. Over the next few years, WEW would gain significant prominence in the wrestling community, becoming one of the largest wrestling companies in the world. In 2015, the federation officially closed and Alakai retired from the wrestling business finitely. Wrestling Information *'Finishing and signature moves' **Starr Drive/Broken Wings (Lifting sit-out double under hook face buster) – 2006–2010 **Tatu'd/Tatu'd Glory (Inverted double under hook face buster) – 2006–2010 **Starr'd Status (Gory Lock transitioned into a Reverse STO) – 2006–2009 *'Signature moves' **''Starr Suicide'' (Reverse DDT lock into a cradle piledriver) (UFL!, XWA, WWH, WWEX) **Dropkick **Snap Powerbomb **Missile Dropkick **Running Crossbody **Running clothesline **Big Boot **Fisherman Suplex **Snapmare **Superplex *'Managers' **Kenzie (UFL!) **Allyson Letherlund (UFL!, WWH) **Veronica Striker (UFL!) **Brenda Burke (WWH) *'Stables' **Public Enemy (Dorian Starr, Dominick Starr, Selena w/ Zye) (UFL!) *'Nickname' **"Head Starr of the Show" (UFL!, as head of the revival tour) **"Star of the Spotlight" (WWH) **"Star" (UFL, WWH) **"Prince" (UFL) *'Entrance themes' **"Whispers in the Dark" by Skillet (UFL!, WWH, WEW) *'Wrestlers Trained' **Chance Rugani **Kameron Copeland **Zharya Burke **Sayge Jemson **Rhiannon **Felicia Johnson **Trisha Monroe Championships and Accomplishments *'UFL!' **UFL! World Heavyweight Champion (2 times) **UFL! Lightweight Champion (1 Time) **Inducted into the UFL! Hall of Fame class (2010) **UFL! 2008 Entrance Music of the Year (Whispers in the Dark) **UFL! 2008 Finishing Move of the Year (Starr Drive) **UFL! 2008 Best Mic Skills of the Year **UFL! 2008 Weekly Segment of the Year (Confessions of a True Starr) **Head of the UFL! Revival Tour (2010) *'World Wrestling Headquarters' **WWH World Heavyweight Champion (1 time) **2009 Feud of the Year (vs. Jason Krow) *'World Elite Wrestling' **WEW Founder **WEW co-Owner **2012 WEW Award for Feud of the Year (vs. SM Raye, Ranked #16) Personal life Alakai was married to his former valet, Veronica Striker, for four years before the two divorced. In 2009, Alakai married former wrestler and his former manager, Brenda. He has three children, one born with Veronica named Nevaeh Burke who was born in 1996; an adopted daughter, Cassidy Burke, who performed as a wrestler in training under her father's ring surname, Starr; and a biological child with Brenda Burke, who worked in WEW for a short stint as a backstage interviewer and then WEW President, Brayden James Burke. After his brother Dorian's death in 2014 and World Elite Wrestling's closure in 2015, Alakai took a large step away from the wrestling community; he handed over Ownership of the family training facility, the StarrDome, to Dorian's widow Zharya Burke. As of 2019, his children attend classes sporadically to train with the new class of trainees, though Brayden took over behind-the-scenes as the President. Alakai is real life in-laws to Angelica Monroe, Felicia Johnson, and Trisha Monroe through Zharya's marriage to Alakai's older brother, Dorian.